Road Safety

Manawatu Times, Volume 65, Issue 308, 17 December 1940, Page 8

Road Safety

'‘There are still many drivers who take enormous risks of causing injury to passing cyclists and others through neglect in the manner of opening the right-hand or offside door of the car,” says the latest road safety message of the Automobile Association (Manawatu), Inc. “Cyclists are the principal sufferers through collisions with car doors suddenly thrown open by motorists. But motorists, too, are subjected to trouble. The modern car door is fairly wide and projects considerably in the path of passing traffic. This projection is a danger in itself, even if other traffic may have a chance of avoiding it, but the danger is multipled when, without any warning, a door is suddenly flung wide open in the track of a cyclist or car. Many very nasty accidents have been caused by carelessly-opened doors and the traffic control authorities take a serious view of the question. “While overtaking traffic must be expected to keep a proper lookout and give as wide a berth as practicable to other vehicles, and even anticipate danger, if possible, the motorist has a very clear and distict duty to passing traflie in ensuring that his vehicle or any part of it does not obstruct or impede the passageway of other traflie. The motorist must, before he opens his car door on the traffic side, make sure that the way is perfectly clear to do so, and that means taking into account the fact that a cyclist may be hidden that blind spot, the panel at the rear corner of the car.

“Passengers should be taught, and told, to alight from the car on the left or near side. The motorist who is careless with his car door as indicated runs grave risk of serious damage to his car, injury to himself and possibly prosecution, and he also runs the risk of causing damage to property and injury to others. Play safe with your car door.”